Chapter 159: Strange

Hua followed Yidian's pointed direction and looked closely, only then noticing that Ailixiya's delicate cute face was wearing a pair of sunglasses— the style identical to Kaiwen's Starry Sky Pentagram Sunglasses, except the frame and decorative light's color were changed to a tender pink, perfectly matching her hair color and temperament.

She doesn't know where she found this in some entertainment room.

Yidian's tone carried deep helplessness: "After putting them on, she became what you see now. Of course, AiLi was originally full of vitality, but these sunglasses…… seem to have amplified this vitality…… uh, into a…… new dimension."

She weighed her words: "I tried to remind her maybe she should rest a bit, but she thinks 'This is so fun! Dancing here, the lights and music are so great!'."

Yidian's spot-on imitation of Ailixiya's tone, yet full of helplessness, made Hua want to laugh a little, yet also feel that the scene before them indeed exceeded ordinary understanding.

Hua looked toward the center of the dance floor.

Ailixiya seemed completely immersed in the joy of music and dance, her pink sunglasses glinting slightly with her movements, the smile on her face pure and bright, as if she had no worries.

Her dance moves were wilder than usual, yet still retained her unique grace and liveliness; rather than saying she was out of control, it was more like a complete release.

After watching for a while, Hua felt that aside from being too noisy, there seemed to be no substantive harm.

Ailixiya looked extremely happy.

"Probably…… no big problem, right?"

Hua said uncertainly: "Besides possibly needing to remind her to pay attention to rest, not to get too tired?"

Yidian sighed again, raised the cup and took a sip: "Hope so. Maybe after she gets tired from dancing, or the novelty of this new toy wears off, it'll be fine."

She looked at Hua: "You just came out of the training room?"

"Yes, preparing to go back to the room to rest a bit." Hua replied.

"Then go quickly, this place…… is too noisy." Yidian said considerately.

Hua nodded, glanced again at the joyful pink storm, then turned and left the noisy hall.

On the way back to his/her own room.

The corridor was quiet and clean, the lighting soft.

However, this quiet was broken when approaching another public area.

A clatter of objects, flames rising, and…… a low growl suppressing anger came from the direction of the small kitchen in the leisure area.

Hua's steps paused slightly, and he/she instinctively glanced sideways.

Only saw that in the kitchen's area usually low in usage, a highly impactful scene was now unfolding.

Qianjie stood there.

That in itself wasn't strange.

What was strange was his current outfit— he actually wore a pristine, neat chef's uniform, and on his head he still wore a tall white chef's hat.

The face-covering gear on his face was still there, but one could still feel his abnormally focused gaze.

On the workbench before him, flour, sugar frosting, unknown jam, whipped cream and other materials were placed somewhat wildly, yet strangely in a state of "order within chaos."

And Qianjie himself was handling the dough in his hands with an aura and force as if facing a Herrscher-level enemy.

Fists pounding down, kneading, slamming……

Each movement carried a howling wind sound and the muffled roar of the metal workbench unable to bear the weight, accompanied in his mouth by a lowered yet still audible angry roar:

"Damn…… soft…… annoying…… precise…… shape up for me!"

And meanwhile, in the tasting area nearby, A Bo Ni Ya stood silently.

She placed her hands gracefully in front of her, looked down at the semi-finished pastry that Qianjie had "produced" in a combat stance, just violently shoved into the mold, and said in her calm, tranquil, almost prayer-like tone:

"Qianjie, rage is the yeast in pastry fermentation, but too much heat will make it lose its soft interior. This batch's shape seems to carry the anger from three seconds ago, the edges slightly cracked, which foretells that the taster may feel a hint of anxious fate."

"Shut Up! A Bo Ni Ya!"

Qianjie roared without turning his head, his movements faster and fiercer, almost crushing the mold, "Who asked you?! Go taste your own 'fate'! If you keep nagging, I'll shove this thing into your mouth to see what 'fate' it is!"

"If this is your wish, I accept. But its texture might be as hard as rock, which is not the way of hospitality."

A Bo Ni Ya's tone was without ripple, even carrying a hint of compassionate pity.

"You——!"

Qianjie, so angry his hand trembled, almost flung the whole baking tray away.

Hua stood in the corridor's shadow, watching this bizarre scene, the corners of his/her mouth twitching uncontrollably a few times.

She felt that the amount of abnormal information received today was a bit over the limit.

(How come it feels like everyone's gotten a bit strange?)

Hua muttered to herself, (but……)

She glanced at Qianjie, who, although cursing, was indeed focused on handling the ingredients, and at A Bo Ni Ya's eternally calm side profile.

(……Actually, maybe it's not a bad thing?)

She shook her head, decided not to investigate further.

Everyone has their own way of coping with this new environment; as long as it doesn't turn into real conflict, let them be.

She chose to turn a blind eye, quickened her steps, just wanting to get back to her quiet room quickly.

However, when passing another fork, a chilling, creepy laughter faintly came from the direction of some studio.

"Hehehe…… perfect…… incomplete…… will eventually be made whole…… recreate the 'truth' burned by rage…… hehehe……"

It was Wei Er Wei's voice.

Unlike her usual excitement, this laughter carried a hint of satisfaction from a successful plot.

Hua's steps paused, a flicker of doubt crossed his/her mind.

(What is Wei Er Wei up to again? Sounds like she fixed something.)

But she had no desire to investigate now, only wanting to distance herself from these increasingly abnormal companions.

She shook her head and hurried away.

Finally, she saw the simple yet vigorous "Floating Life" mark on her room door, like a mental anchor, letting her breathe a sigh of relief.

Pushing open the door, an ancient-style setting with a faint sandalwood scent and the aroma of books came into view.

The simple screen, the clean‑lined wooden furniture, the landscape scroll hanging on the wall, the sword rack in the corner—everything was generated according to her Memory and preferences, a rare tranquil corner for her here.

(It seems I only changed my clothes, still fairly normal.)

The subtle anxiety Hua felt because of her companion's abnormality eased a bit, even giving her a sense of relief.

(At least not like them…)

She swung the door shut, isolating the clamor and oddities outside.

She turned, intending to pour a glass of water and perhaps read a book, to calm herself after this series of "surprises".

At the moment she turned, her steps froze, her gaze fixed on the center of the room.

There, where only a plain carpet had been, now suddenly an extra—

emitting a faint blue glow—

Sleep Pod.

Hua stood in the doorway, motionless, as if she had instantly turned into a statue.

Her mind went blank for a few seconds, merely staring dumbfounded at the object that shouldn't be there, clashing with the antique charm of her room.

She subconsciously swallowed, the sound of her larynx rolling unusually clear in the silent room.

(... What's going on?)